The Russian Athletics Federation has called out a recent decision by World Athletics to extend a continuing sanction stemming from the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
After its most recent council meeting last week, the global track and field governing body said that talks of the easing restrictions over Russia and Belarus were among several topics that were discussed. But the “wider impact of the conflict on Ukraine athletics” was a major determining factor in keeping the bans in place indefinitely.
“We presented options for the Council to consider on this matter, however, the original decision remains on the sanctions that protect the integrity and fairness of our competitions, with no tangible movement towards peace negotiations having materialized,” World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said.
The decision was panned by Russian officials on Saturday, who claimed that restoring its athletes’ standing back on the international competition landscape remains a priority.
“Russian Athletics is disappointed by yet another discriminatory decision by the World Athletics Council to bar Russian athletes from participating in competitions held under the auspices of World Athletics,” the country’s track and field federation said in a statement. “It is clear that this decision runs counter to Olympic principles and to current trends in global sport.
Russia and Belarus were barred by World Athletics in March 2022, just weeks after the invasion of Ukraine. Some of the armed conflict originated from Belarus and numerous restrictions targeting international sporting events followed in the months after the military action.
World Athletics has revisited its position on its initial decision several times, which put further constraints on Russia following the revelation of a state-sponsored doping scheme in 2016.
In 2023, 2025 and this past March, World Athletics has explored a path that would allow the possibility of allowing some athlete from either nation to return in some form. But a 2023 action removed Russia’s hand in making decision and holding seats within the World Athletics council or benefit from any resources.
The council said in 2025 that that ban would not only remain but was “adequate and do not need to be replaced.”
Russian officials on Saturday reiterated a stance of trying to evoke how its individual athletes have been impacted by not having a place on the international stage and missing out on years of records, medals and the opportunity to face off against the top competition globally.
“Of particular concern is the fact that an entire generation of young athletes has no opportunity to compete at a high international level,” the federaton said it its statement. “This deprives them of an important stage in their careers and reduces their chances of further progress. This applies, above all, to youth and junior athletes who consistently deliver strong results, feature in the top European and world rankings, and are rightly regarded as medal contenders at the European Championships, World Championships and Youth Olympic Games.”
Despite a proposal in May from the International Olympic Committee to lift its own restrictions from Belarus, any widespread adoption of Russian athletes could take years.
The IOC banned Russia and Belarus in October 2023 and only allowed select individual athletes to compete — and no teams — with no flags, insignias or anthems acknowledging their records of accomplishments. Just 15 Russian athletes and 17 from Belarusians participated at 2024 Paris Games.
